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About The Omaha guide. (Omaha, Neb.) 1927-19?? | View Entire Issue (Feb. 6, 1943)
/jUCTCE/EQUAUfj^hjALL THE NEWS WHILE IT IS NEWsTjHiipHEW TOTHEJiNE ! AKGF.ST ACCREDITED NEGRO NEWSPAPER WEST OF CHICAGO AND NORTH OF KANSAS CITY —MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED NEGRO PRESS W “crf3iS*“.S“^i^Pho„°fWE.Nebrask* Saturday, February 6,1943~ OUR 15th Year-No. 52~City Edition, 5c Copy . - ": — ' ' ■' ... 11 "—" ' . *' " -■ ~ .. NEED AIR RAID WARDENS This local area needs Air Raid Wardens! DO TOUR PART! If you would like to become an Air Raid Warden, please come to the classes sponsored by the Red Cross being held each Tuesday night at Long School. The time is 7:00 p. m. USO NEEDS FURNITURE, ETC. LETS RESTORE OUR CANTE N New and used lounge furniture, lamps, books, and other accessor ies which should go to make up a homey, and comfortable canteen for our service boys are sorely needed, to help restore it and to re place that lost in the fire which last week did nearly $3,000 worth of damage to the USO canteen at 2307 North 24th street. Persons wishing to contribute furniture are asked by officials to phone the USO office and lounge at 1906 Farnam street. The num ber is JAckSon 5250. The new probable site for the j USO canteen for Colored Service- j men. is the old Shultz Bakery at ] 2700 North 24th Street. Let s all pitch in and help to re store this useful organization in our midst. Wm. Hastie Gives Army Air-Corps Discriminaton, Reason for Resigning NEW FEPC CHOSEN | INCUDES HASTIE. GRAHAM. ROSS New Yafrk, N. Y._..Attorney Francis Biddle .who was charged with the responsibility of working out a reorganization of the Fair Employment Practice Comnflttee announced this week teh names of four new paid members to sup plant the present unpaid FEPC group, according to a copywrited story in the New York Post. The new committee which will function independent of the War Manpower Commission includes Frank Gra ham as chairman. Malcolm Ross. Father Haas and William Hastie, who was until recently Civilian Aide to the Secretary of War. Waacky Meets Waac ••wacky” and WAAC meet in Hollywood, the Wacky in this case being the famous radio and mo tion picture star. Red Skeleton. ]cft and the WAAC being 2nd Officer Irma Jackson Cayton. now assign ed to the 25th post headquarter* company of the WAACS at Fort Huachuca. Ariz.. where she is now serving as a staff officer under the •command of Captain Frances Alex ander. L*. Cayton. who was born in Brunswick. Ga.. the daughter of the late Dr. Raymond S. Jackson, who was one of the first men in that area to enlist in World War 1. fook undergraduate and graduate work at Atlanta and Fisk universit ies. becoming a social worker. She is the wife of Horace R. Cayton, director of the Parkway Community house. Chicago, who was professor1 of economics at Fisk when they first met- Lt. Cayton was in the first group of WAACS to be train ed at Fort Desmpines ,la„ last July, receiving her commission in j September. She has been at Fcrj Huaehuca since December. (AMP Photo) WHITE CALLS FOR FEPC INDEPENDENCE SAYS NATION MENACED BY £ COALITION OF SOUTHERN DEMOCRATIC AND REAC TIONARY REPUBLICAN BLOC Washington. D. C... “Unless the Wiir Employment Practice Comm ittee has the full backing of the j government such as was given to the Securities and Exchange Com mission and th® National Labor Relations Act when they were un- j der fire at their inception, the FEPC can never be of much value j asserted Walter White. Secretary of the NAACT at the John Weslev A ME. church here January 2*. •The Committee", White said. j "must have effective 'anction-. j such as the right to impose money pen.llties and prison senteneea and to hold public hearings when war contract holders, labor unions or gov rr.ment officials refuse to | ■comply with Executive Order No. \ 8802 prohibiting discrimination on account of race, creed, color or national origin. Whether the Committee members are paid or ■ ■not is a minor issue in comparison with this more fundamental issue "Even if they were paid magnif icent salaries they would be just -as ineffective as they now are on a voluntary basis unless they are backed unequivocally and given real authority- I 'The Committee to date has been an unwanted sttpchild kick ed about from pillar to post when ever the professional bigots saw fit to give it the boot. "The fundamental needs of the •Committee are first, complete in dependence as an inevstigatory •vind corrective agency which should be located in the executive offic es of the President with respons ibility solely to him as Commander 'continued on page^^=>2) TEACHERS SALARY DIF FERENTIALS UNFAIR • Newport News. Va. A decree in favor of Dorothy F. Roles and the Newport News Teacehrs' As sociation in which the court de clared that discrimination evid enced in teachers salary discrep ancies here is based solely on race and color has been signed for judge Luther B. Way 0f the Eas tern District Federal Court of Vir ginia. Oliver W .Hill and Dr. Leon A. Ransom, members of the NAA CP. legal staff announced this week The suit was filed on Dec ember 24. 1941 against the School Board of the city of Newport News to equalize the salaries of Negro and white teachers. Dr. Ransom said that this d cree was the first to be issued on any of the school teachers’ salaries cases brought by the XAACP thru out the South in which judgement was based upon the finding of iact In all other school teachers' sal ary cases the school board had themselves eventually agreed to salary increases. The Newport News School Board in defending it self offered as one explanation of the paying of less money to Neg-o< school teachers than to whites the reason that the cost of living of white teachers is substantiaily greater than that of colored teach ers. Judge Way said in his opinion “it is patent that the difference in the cost of living cannot be the (Continued on page 3) Management Assn. Surveys Negro Manpower WOULD USE IT (BY ALVIN E. WHITE) Washington, Feb. 3 (ANP). . In a special research report by the A merican Management association, (he question of the Negro worker has been thoroughly analyzed by personnel directors and manage ment experts, with a view toward the employment and integration of the Negro in industry. Privately printed and circulated, the report is a frank and open discussion in volving questions which have baf fled many government agencies Arriving at a 10 point summary, the AMA finds that there should be mutual cooperation between employe and employer. The re port points out that Negroes can and have been trained for occupa tions requiring all levels of skill, as the lists of jobs on which col ored men and women are now working indicate: the program of Negro integration requires, first, a firm declaration of company pol icy; personnel managers now know there is as much danger in not dealing with the problem of the Negro worker as there is in deal ing with it ineptly: both the CIO and the AFL are officially commit ted to the policy of nctn-discrimin ation; successful integration of colored workers is predicted on a planned piogram of selection, in duction. training and upgrading: intelligent use of the service of federal, state and local agencies as a source of selected Negro applic ants and strategic placement of colored manpower in the plant will yield a substantial dollars and cents return to industry. Many questions are raised by white employers among which are the following; Is the Negro as in telligent as the white? Does he respond as readily to training? Does the Negro produce as much as the white worker on a similar job? Does the attendance record of the Negro compare favorably with that of the white? Is the Negro financially as responsible as the white? How does the Negro compare with the white in the matter of health? Is he more I pront to specific diseases? Is seg regation necessary where the N— gro and the white are working to gether? Is the Negro more prone to accidents than the white? In many of these questions, the answers come only through actual working and determining just iinw Negroes compare with white work I ers under similar circumstances. Pointing out the limitations in : training for Negroes in some sou | them states the report indicates 1 there is now a considerable res ' ervoir of skilled Negro labor, only a small fraction of which is being utilized in appropriate categories. It is estimated that 5,389,000 color ed persons were gainfully employ ed in 1940- Howecer. many of the men and women were on jobs far below what their actual or poten tial abilities would warrant. In (April, 1940 .these employed No U S, INDICTS TWO ST. LOUIS MEN FOR SEDITION groes made up 10.7 percent of the*! work force of the country'- Of the total of unemployed at that time. Negroes constituted 12.5 percent In June. 1942, the bureau oi em ployment security indicated that “over 500.000 Negroes who should be utilized for war production are now idle because of the discrimin atory hiring practices of war in dustries.” The report continues, “Yet some significant changes are reflecting over their status a decade ago. In 1930, there were 3.662.893 Negro males ,10 years of age and over, gainfully employed. Of this num ber. 1.492,555 were classified as agricultural workers: 123,898 as general laborers: 109.586 as serv ants: 108.241 as chauffeurs, truck and tractor drivers. 93,714 as por ters (except in stores* and 72,382 as janitors and sextons. Relatively I smaller numbers were laborers, porters and helpers in stores, work ing in laundries, in cigar and to bacco factories and in cleaning, dyeing and pressing shops. Still others were working as barbers ! and coal miners. Making a strung plea for Negro women, the survey states: “Since the draft draws no color line and since large numbers of colored men have enlisted in the armed forces, the Negro woman as an in dustrial worker must come in for an increasing share of attention. “Traditionally, the Negro woman i has been identified with personal and domestic service as maid ser vant, cook and laundress. She has. long been an agricultural worker. Her participation in the manufact ' uring and mechanical industries has been very limited. Her ad vent into the profession and into clerical work is even more limited I and of quite recent vintage. But the niche of the Negro wo man in our industrial set-up is be ing carved. The younger women is slowly finding her way into many diverse occupations. She is laboratory technician, nurse- steno gTapher and personnel worker, in th efactory she operates a milling machine and a lathe or makes parts for radios and for precis ion instruments. Discussing the future employ ment of Negroes, the report prais es colored workers, who themselv es by virtue of their performance and attitudes have won encourag ing victories over tradition and prejudice. “We must bear in mind that. for j every step forward, the road back is twice as long and as hard. The Negro is surely plagued by such thoughts as these: “Shall I be the first to go when the war is won?’ ! Must I return to the jobs to which traditions has so long held me bound?' The statement above ‘Af J ter the war management is going to keep the best workers.Negro or white. Workers will not be | kept for sentimental reason,' is thus significant for its implications FORMED ‘CHURCH’ TO KEEP ITS MINISTERS OUT OF ARMY ST. LOUIS, Feb. 4 (ANP). .A fed eral grand jury sifting at East St. Louis this week returned indict ments against two leaders of the Pacific movement, an alleged Jap anese sponsored organization, charging them wit hconspiracy to violate the wartime sedition stat ute and hamper the selective serv ice law. The Organization and a Japanese referred to only as ‘John Doe' were also named. Indictment of the two Negroes marks the fourth time a federal jury has lodged similar charges a gainst Negroes. Recently several Negroes were indicted and convict ed in New York of sedition. A New Orleans jury has also indicted a group of colored Persons for draft evasion but they have not been brought to trial. In Chicago a trial of several Negroes is in progress affer action by a federal grand jury. Tne two leaders who were im mediately taken into custody are David D. Erwin, a cook, and Gen eral Lee Butler, a janitor. Erwin said he is a “bishop" of the “Triumph church of the New Age.” described by the government as a “pseudo religious adjunct” of the Pacific movement that enroll ed members of the organization as ministers for a small fee in order that they might claim draft defer ment. Butler succeeded Erwin as president of the movement at an election in 1940. it was revealed, and became national adviser there after. Activities of the Pacific Move ment since Pearl Harbor are the basis of the indictments. A series of meetings in the home of Butler and the residence of K. D. Branch are described in the formal charge which alleges that the defendants an their followers made such state ments as: Japan will soon invade and con quer the rnited States. Members of the Pacific Move ment would be “taken care of” when the invasion came. Japan is the champion of all colored persons. "This is a white man's war and Negroes should not fight. Pacific movement members should pay $1 a week to help Jap anese soldiers. Negroes, if sent to Tight the Jap anese. should surrender. Members of the movement ac cumulate guns and ammunition to aid the Japanese when they invade (Continued page 3) ^——mmm It gives assurance that a man’s record of service shall be the det ermining factor in his retention on the pay-roll—not the color of Lis skin. It is. in fact, a pledge of management's good faith_a pledge that the efforts to consoli date the Negro's position and make him a more production member of industry will not be relaxed." SAYS FOR ! NEGRO BOYS TO BE BEST OF SOLDIERS Reactionary policies and discrim inatory" practices of the Army Air Forces in matters affecting Negro es were the immediate cause of my resignation as Civilian Aide to the Secretary of War. The Army Air Forces are growing in importance and independence. In the post war period they may be come the greatest single compon ent of the armed services. Biased policies and harmful practices es* ablished in this branch of the Army can all too easily infect other bran ches as well. The situation had become critical. Yet. the whole course of my dealings with the Army Air Forces convinced me that further expression of my views in the form of recOmmendtaions with- < in the Department would be futile I therefore, took the only course which can. I believe, bring results. Public opinion is still the strong est force in American life. To the Negro soldier and those who influence his thinking, I say with all the force and sincerity at my command tha tthe man in uni form must grit his teeth, square his shoulders and do his best as a sol dier. confident that there are mil lions of Americans outside of the armed services and more persons than he knows in high places with in the military establishment, who will never cease fighting to remove every racial barrier and every hum iliating practice which now con front him. But only by being at all times a first class soldier can the man in uniform help in this battle which shall lie fought and won. When I took office, the Secretary of War directed that all questions of policy and important proposals relating to Negroes should be re ferred to my office for comment or approval before final action. In December, 1940. the Air forces ref erred to me a plan for a segregated training center fflr Wegrd! pursuit pilots at Tuskegee. I expressed mv entire disagreement with the plan, giving my reasons in detail. My views were disregarded. Since then, the Air Command has never on its own initiative submitted any plan or project to me for comment or recommendation. What inform ation I obtained. I had to seek out. Where I made proposals or recom mendation. I volunteered them. This situation reached its climax in late December. 1942. when I learned through Army press re leases sent out from St- Louis and from the War Department in Wash ington that the Air Command was* about to establish a segregated of ficer candidate school at Jeffer son Barracks. Missouri, to train Negro officers for ground duty with the Army Air Forces. Here was a proposal for a radical de parture from present Army prac tice, since the officer candidate training program is the one large field where the Army is eliminat ing racial segregation. Moreover I had actually written to the Air Command Several weeks earlier in an attempt to find out what was brewing at Jefferson Barracks. The Air Command replied as late as December 17, 1942, giving n»>t even the slightest hint of any pian for a segregated officer candidate School, It is inconceivable to me that consideration of such a pro ject had not then advanced far enough for my office to have been consulted, even if I had not made specific inquiry. The conclusion is inescapable that the Air Comm and does not propose to inform, much less counsel with, this office about its plans for Negroes. But the reactionary policies and discriminatory practices of the A,r F'orces are much more serious than the matter of ignoring mi office. It should be Understood that from the beginning the Air Command did not want Negro per sonnel Resistant^ bred of that attitude has been met ever since. Moreover .even now the air comm ! and views the use of the Negro as an “experiment” designed to det ermine whether he can do this or that in the field of aviation Thin, attitude is the result of wholly un scientific notions that race some how controls a man's capacity ana aptitudes. The tragedy is that bv not wanting the Negro in the first place and by doubting his capacity, the Air Comand has com mitted itself psychologically to courses of action which themsel ves become major obstacles to the success of Negroes in the Air Fore es. The Negro program of the Air j Forces began some two years ago with the organization of several i so-called “Aviation Squadrons" -— ' (separate)”. Th,ese units, now Wings O’er Jordan NORMA E. BOYD. Washington teacher and national chairman of Alpha Kappa Alpha’s National Non Partisan Council on Public Affairs, who will tell of the Council s work iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiimiiiiiiftmiitti’ greatly increased in number, were organized to serve no specific mil itary need. They nave never had a defined function. Except as in dividual commanders on their own initiative have found some milit ary function for particular small groups of men, the characteris tic assignment of th« "averHon Squadron (Separate)” has been the performance of odd jobs of com- I mon labor which arise from jime to time at air fields. There are no equivalent white organizations. ‘‘Aviation Squadrons (Separate)” ' would never have come into exis tence except fo rthe necessity of making provision for Ngro enlist ed men in the Air Forces. Reiac- j tant to use Negroes at all, the Air Command started off on the wrong j foot by organizing some Negro )a- ' bor units, while every effort wan j being made to recruit white vol unteers with mechanical ability for skilled service. Somewhat later, in order to pro 'Cont nued on pagt j^=4> SETTLE LETE KOLVIN ESTATE KANSAS CIT YBROTHEKS GET HALF OF 87.413,286 FORTUNE Tulsa, Feb. 4 (ANP)—Disposal of! the $7,413,286 estate of the late Lete Kolvin. an Indian woman, was announced this week by Char Sunday, on Wings Over Jordan. TO REVIEW PUBLIC AFFAIRS OF ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SORORITY Washington—Wings Over Jordan radio audience for February 7. will hear Norma E. Boyd, of Washing ton, D. C., in a review of the work of the Non Partisan Council on Public Affairs Of Alpha Kappa Al pha Sorority. Miss Boyd, an incorporator of the Sorority, is founder and national ch»ir""T> its National Non-Part isan Council on Public Affairs, which for three years has maintain ed. at Washington, a legislative headquarters with a full time leg islative representative—the only Negro women's organization serv ing the public on this basis. In addition to a long and dis tinguished career as teacher of mathematics in the junior high Schools of the District of Columbia, Miss Boyd is also a sponsor of the Federation of Student Councils in the colored schools of the District and js at pres nt serving on the Farm Committee of the National Women's Organizations for the Mo bilization of Women in the War Effort—an interracial group. The recent conference on the Ne gro Women and National Defense, called through her efforts, at Wash ington .was attended by represent atives of forty-three national organ izations. Miss Boyd is a native Washingtonian, educated in its public schools and at Howard Uni versity. les B. Rogers, white, an attorney, who said that 48 of his clients fig ured in the award. Division of real estate besides the seven mil lion dollar cash estate was also a greed upon, he stated. Floyd and Willie Mjay weather, employees of a packing plant in Kansas City, will receive half of the estate under terms of the a greement. and 46 collateral heirs will receive the other half. Mi»s Izora Alexander Lee of Claremore, is among those who will share in the bequests. The division of the hotly contest ed will follows a reversal by the state supreme court of a district court opinion that also gave t'ne Kansas City brothers one half of the estate. BOY SCOUTS MEAN BUSINESS t i Scouting * & W86HE* W r BttWtfW*" 1 m ^arryontoVtctc^ C. **Toughen up. Buckle down, and Carry on to Victory", is the Boy Scout major task this year. Their 1,570.000 members are in the conflict to the hilt on the home front, doing everything boys of Scout age can do to help win the war speedily and a just peace permanently. -